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I haven’t given an update about my progress for my wedding shape-up goals…Well, it’s because there honestly hasn’t been much progress. I actually considered deleting this part of the blog, but I feel like it’s helpful for folks to see that even registered dietitians and certified personal trainers struggle to reach their goals as well! My weight has actually gone up since my last post, and I definitely feel like I’ve been eating a lot more (I attribute that to stress!). I really do have a lot going on in my life – working at two hospitals, planning a wedding, a few different writing opportunities, keeping up with my new blog and keeping in touch with friends and family! So it’s time to re-visit my goals and adjust my plan.

First, I finally gave in and got a membership at 24 Hour Fitness. We have the gym at our apartment, but if there are 3 people in there, there’s not much room left so it was easy to become unmotivated. I actually used to work at 24, and there are a few near-by with good group classes. I’ve discovered that actually paying for a gym membership is great motivation on its own! At the beginning of the week, I plan the group classes that I’m going to go to for the week (2-3 + a yoga class). I also have my gym bag packed to stop on my way home from work. The only hard part is that the fiance gets off work after me, and I like to wait for him…but I NEVER know when he’ll be off work so it sometimes messes up our fitness schedule –> something for HIM to work on, I’d say! Some days, I’ll just have to get my workout in without him. I always have a snack packed in my gym bag as well – one of my biggest excuses for skipping the gym after work is because I’m hungry!

Weigh myself every Monday and Friday. Good way to see if you’re on track but keep in mind that your weight will fluctuate daily based on hydration, contents in your bowels and menstrual cycle. I will also take my circumference measurements monthly.

I feel like a lot of my time on my days off is spent catching up with friends and family. I’m lucky to have such active friends, so if I need to get a workout in I’m sure they’d be happy to join me! Otherwise, get the workout done first thing in the morning before starting errands (which I’m actually pretty good about).

FOOD JOURNAL!! This is one of the biggest keys to success with weight loss and weight maintenance, and apparently, one of the most difficult for me to do. It’s just something I need to do. Some days, I do my food journal the night before and plan my meals out – which is a GREAT plan. I always seem to fall off the bandwagon when I get home from work. So my plan is to JUST DO IT. My goal is still to journal 3 days per week. I believe that this will be my biggest key to success – I tend to snack a bit more than I think I realize.

Another thing I’m working on in my life (which is not really related to this, but it really is), is getting more organized and simplifying my life. Instead of writing my workouts down in three or four places (yep, sure do) I plan to get them all to one – just have to decide which method works best. I also currently have three day planners (one online, old-fashioned day timer and work Outlook planner). This month, I will downsize to one method for tracking each (except a day timer for both work and “life”).

I have been working out 4-5 days per week. I’ve been doing more cardio lately – thinking of training for another half marathon. Gotta make sure to stay on track with the weights too.

Planning dinners. I plan dinner and grocery shop on my day off for all the days until my next day off. This really helps keep us accountable because we’ve already bought the groceries and don’t want them to go to waste.

Buying a gym membership will be a great step for us also!

So this is where I’m picking up with the plan. Only 7 months to go!!

Question :: Anyone have any other tips for success? What keeps you on track?

Brittany Glassett, RD

I am Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer out to make the world a healthier place by debunking one nutrition myth at a time. Nutrition is a complex science but eating healthy should be simple! I'm here to provide evidence-based information and share my stories & recipes as I pursue my journey of becoming the healthiest I can be.